1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coupled chair unit which can be converted to a desk mode and to a chair mode on the floor of a lecture hall, a theator or a city hall.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Publication 61-30564 discloses a conventional coupled chair unit usable as both a chair mode and a desk mode. The conventional coupled chair unit comprises a plurality of legs fixedly located in a predetermined interval on the floor of an installation site, such as a lecture hall, a theator or a city hall, a beam member laterally fixed on the legs, a plurality of support posts uprightly fixed at a predetermined chair array interval on the beam member in the longitudinal direction of the beam member, a plurality of armrests fixed on the forward side of the respective support posts, a plurality of chair seats placed between the adjacent armrests and supported in a manner to be tiltably rotatable relative to the opposite armrests, a plurality of chair backrests provided at an upper portion of a back of the chair seat and table panels fixed on the rear surface of the backrest and dividable for each chair at the back of each backrest, and a link mechanism for converting a table panel backrest combination structure to a chair mode in which the structure is held rearwardly tilted behind the chair seat and to a desk mode in which the structure is held substantially horizontal. The link mechanism comprises first short links reverse-rotatably pin-connected to a first support portion at a near-top of the support post, second long links forwardly-tiltably pin-connected to a second support portion which is situated in the lower portion of the support post, and end brackets which allow the forward end portions of the first and second links to be pivotally supported relative to the table panel.
The conventional coupled chair unit can be used as a chair mode where persons can be seated and as a desk mode where a desk has a wide space. Normally, use of the chair mode prevails.
Even if the coupled chair unit can be used as both the chair mode and the desk mode, an outer appearance in the chair mode is important in practical use and, furthermore, the link mechanism, that is, the chair/desk conversion device is preferably never of such a type that it is unsightly when viewed in both a front/back direction and a right/left direction.
In the ordinary chair mode of use, however, the support posts are unsightly projected between the adjacent chair backrests with the first and second links exposed as flat plates on both sides of the respective support posts. Furthermore in the ordinary chair mode of use in which the table panel/backrest combination structure is held tilted rearwardly, the first and second links are externally exposed particularly in the front direction of the coupled chair unit and in the right/left direction, thus impairing an aesthetic appearance of the coupled chair unit.